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(Image from the British School of Falconry and google pictures)

I bet "Falconry and Murder" got your attention! Today is book review day and I have a favorite of mine for you. Andy Straka is back. He lost his publisher several years ago. Cold Quarry, his last book published, won the Shamus Award for best paperback original private eye novel in 2004. I'm happy to say he's found another publisher. Kitty Hitter: A Frank Pavlicek Mystery was just released.

You know that I read mysteries. I used to read a lot of P.I. mysteries. Then I got tired of them. They were too dark, too formulaic. Then I discovered Andy Straka. His "hero" is Frank Pavlicek, an ex NYC cop, now retired and living in Virginia. He has a tough guy sidekick, Jake Toronto, who comes with the requisite shady background. There the formula stops. You see, Frank has a daughter, who he gets along with (shock), who has become a P.I. All three, Frank, Nicole, and Jake are falconers -- something I've been interested in for what seems like forever.

In Kitty Hitter (the fourth mystery featuring Frank Pavlicek), Frank returns to New York City to help an old friend with an unusual case. He is asked to help find a physician/animal rights activist's missing cat. The doctor believes her cat was stolen and then hunted down by a bird of prey. Other pets are missing from the apartment complex, too. The case becomes more unusual as Frank and Nicole dig deeper into the case. The doctor leaves out some important information about herself. Is there really an owl in Central Park feeding on pets? Illegal immigrants show up along with secretive developers. Gang wars are going on. Straka successfully weaves it all together and includes some interesting information on falconry.

Easy reading and recommended! Welcome back to Frank, Nicole, Jake and Andy!

(Andy Straka is a licensed falconer, a native of upstate New York and lives with his family in Virginia.)